Man arrested in 1988 murder of Manitoba couple

A 42-year-old man has been arrested in a decades-old murder case of a Manitoba couple in Texas.

Evan, 70, and Wilda Squires, 65, were shot to death in November of 1988 in Weslaco, Texas. The couple from Minnedosa, Man., who would spend winters in the southern U.S. city, were shot to death at a trailer park.

They were asleep in their mobile home in Magic Valley Trailer Park, when they were apparently awakened by a noise, stated a release from the Weslaco Police Department.

The Squires confronted the intruder and were both shot.

The killer was never found but evidence gathered at the scene was used to generate a DNA profile that was put into a national database.

Last week, a man was arrested in Grand Rapids, Michigan, after his DNA matched, said J.P Rodriguez, who is with the Weslaco police.

The suspect is currently in custody in Michigan and investigators are working to extradite him to Texas where he will face charges of capital murder.

Rodriguez said the arrest is a relief to many in the police department.

"A lot of the veteran officers that were acutally around at that time, they really want to see some closure in this case because they said it was such a tragic event that happened here in our community."

The case prompted the creation of Crime Stoppers in Weslaco, Rodriguez said.

If convicted, the man who was arrested could face the death penalty, Rodriguez added.